Revived Herefordshire bypass plan and new homes will simply create more traffic, campaigners claim

The revived Herefordshire bypass plan and its attendant 10,000-plus new homes will simply create more traffic, cancelling out any hoped-for easing of congestion in the city, campaigners claim.

Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet this week backed a plan to borrow a further £30 million towards the expected £40.3-million cost of phase one of the bypass plan, formerly known as the southern link road to the southwest of the city.

But Jeremy Milln, who represents Hereford Civic Society on umbrella campaign group Herefordshire Transport Alliance (HTA), said the bypass “has subtly become a distributor road to facilitate the building of 10,000 car-dependent homes across the lovely countryside to west of Hereford”.

“This would negate any value it might have had for the relief of city centre congestion,” he said. “And with a price tag running into many hundreds of millions, and little prospect of anyone else paying for it, the bill will fall to Herefordshire council tax payers.”

Borrowing on the first phase alone will cost the county a further £1.5 million a year in interest, he pointed out at a recent council cabinet meeting.

Cabinet member for finance Coun Pete Stoddart responded with an assurance that this sum, treated as “revenue” or everyday spending, would not lead to cuts in services elsewhere.

HTA says money would be better spent on “viable, affordable, safe and attractive alternatives to driving” in the city – “which have the added benefits of addressing the health, cost of living and climate crises”.

It also says action to address “school run” congestion could reduce this by up to 50 per cent.

“Our successors will not thank us if we trap them behind the wheel and saddle them with a forever debt,” Mr Milln said.

The council’s newly published Capital Strategy 2025-30 says it will spend over £8 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund on active travel measures in the county ove the next financial year.

“The delivery of road infrastructure will support the growth of the economy and the package of active travel improvements will help residents to live safe, healthy and independent lives,” the strategy says.